Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
GMF

Where has it all gone wrong?

Recommended Posts

Ok, so the "Fat lady has yet to sing", but where has it all gone wrong for City this season?

Is it down the manager with poor acquisitions, poor team selections and poor team tactics?

Or is it down to the players because they lack the required "Quality"?

Or is it a mere lack of confidence?

Perhaps, it''s a combination of the three?

Whatever, we have 15 games left and are in a 4 way fight for the relegation places. The total points needed for survival is highly likely to be less that the average of 36 required in recent seasons. 

That''s just 20 points from 15 games. Anyone seriously doubt that is beyond us ??????

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It''s a combination of things

- Not having a settled 11

- New signings taking time to settle in

- injuries

- failure to get another forward at the start of the season

- bizarre tatics such as the infamous diamond

- lack of quality in the final third

I don''t think confidence is a factor but having said that we are nowhere near the team we were at the start of the season. I remember going to games like Newcastle where we dug in after going 2-0 down and then played some blinding stuff. Now those performances just aren''t happening.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was going to post a similar note to this but GazzaTCC beat me to it.

Let''s discount injuries for a minute (bear with me.....)

Worthy picks the 11 that go out on the park on a Saturday. He also decides - well we hope he does - what tactics the team are going to use against a particular opposition. However, come the blowing of the whistle at 3pm what then happens is down to the players.

Some of the defending against Villa was schoolboy stuff - second goal being a prime example, with the City defence looking like a bunch of 10 year olds all chasing after the ball. You have to say somebody on the pitch has to take at a look at themselves for that and be brave enough to sort something out.

So you have 11 highly paid individuals on the park that are supposed to know what this team game is all about. We are continually hearing from Worthy about how the team worked hard, but it doesn''t seem to be cutting it. Surely, someone on the park is grabbing the team by the scruff of the neck and saying "Come on, buck up" or "Come on you need to be doing this". Or is this just simple fantasy. Fleming is supposedly the captain, but in what little coverage the BBC deems to show of City games all you ever see him doing is having a go at people.

Several other noters have already commented about how much these guys get paid and if they turned similar performances in the office they would be out on their ears. Does Worthy have the balls to do that to the depleted squad he has now? What reserves does Worthy have waiting in the wings that could do a job when push comes to shove? Shackell? Jarvis? Crow? Any others?

When all is said and done the buck stops with Worthy. Somewhere along the line I believe he isn''t adjusting his tactics until it is too late, if he even had the right tactics to begin with.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote]It''s a combination of things - Not having a settled 11 - New signings taking time to settle in - injuries - failure to get another forward at the start of the season - bizarre tatics such as the...[/quote]

ncfc4prem

It''s your last paragraph that has me most worried, as I''m beginning to think that confidence is playing a big part here.

This current team isn''t substantially different to the one that played so well at Newcastle and Moan Utd. The work rate may be good, but the spirit seems lacking and I struggle to see the current side coming back when we fall behind.

20 points from 15 games shouldn''t be beyond us, but doubts seem to be creeping in !!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The problem is that when we got those good draws at Newcastle, Tottenham and played well at Man  U the premiership was still a novelty for us and we still had plenty of games to go to get ourselves out of any relegation problems.  Now, however with us sitting deep in the relegation mire the confidence has gone because we are not playing well and getting quite comprehensively beaten by teams who before the game were not even doing well themselves.  I personally cant see us upping our performances to a level needed to have the consistency required to pull away from the bottom three. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote]The problem is that when we got those good draws at Newcastle, Tottenham and played well at Man U the premiership was still a novelty for us and we still had plenty of games to go to get ourselves ou...[/quote]

Navman, the question I have is who takes the blame (ultimately)? The players have got to hold up their hands for the poor performances against West Ham and Villa, but Worthy has been so intransigent over team selection that he must also take some blame. OK, the squad has been hit hard by injuries but he has some youngsters chomping at the bit to get game time. Drop players who haven''t performed and get in the players who WANT to perform.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

a combination of things, i thought it was a lack of quality, and it is, but i suppose no one is really to blame for that one, we are never going to have 20m to spend each season

why oh why didn''t we buy ashton at the start of the season?  It seems crazy to only start to take our low scoring record seriously half way through - the summer signings have all done okay, considering the money we had to spend, it is no one''s fault that we have had so many injuries - but some of the team selections have at times been bizarre!

helveg, jonson and safri (when fit) all need a decent sustained run in the team, and in their preferred position - it is a blow to lose charlton and a shame that drury is not up to the prem when most of us thought he would be

huckerby is wasted most games on the left wing, just being man marked out of the game - his runs supply .... who exactly, more often than not no one is in the box to receive the ball.  McKenzie runs around but hasn''t got a great first touch, svensson hasn''t played enough to judge...

it is just becoming a rather sorry end to our premiership adventure, the lack of real prem quality and a too small squad, they are not the fault of worthy or the club - just a sign of how football is these days

worthy will carry on, i don''t think anyone could have done better really, given the players at his disposal

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
To me the lions share of the blame does lie with the manager for the bizarre team selections (sticking with tried and trusted but not up to it), not knowing his best 11, playing people out of position and not knowing his best formation. On top of this seeming to have a blind spot about the defensive weaknesses, only mentioned by Hux and Green on 2 occassions all seasons is a major weakness.

If we dont have our best 11 on the pitch how can we expect to survive?

Having said this he is the best manager for us at the moment and sacking him is the worst decision we could make. I am sure he will learn from this season and improve for it - he has in every season for us so far.

OTBC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ZippersLeftFoot

I have to agree with much of what you say, but I keep asking myself whether it really is a case of Worthy not knowing our best 11, or Worthy picking what he believes to be his best starting 11 only for the boys to then fail to deliver.

One problem I believe Worthy does have is that he doesn''t actually have 6 - 8 players who actually pick themselves, week in, week out (Green, Francis and Huckerby are the exceptions) and the rest of the squad is much of a muchness in terms of alternatives. He therefore tends to stick with the man with the jersey, unless he is clearly failing to perform.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I agree GTCC that having such a thin squad and not even having a core to build around does not help Worthy.

However there have been non injury related changes week in week out which is what makes me think that the ideal team is yet to be discovered. I also agree that he has been let down by the players more through their own lack of ability rather than their lack of effort which has been superb with a couple of notable exceptions.

OTBC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
GazzaTCC said, "He therefore tends to stick with the man with the jersey, unless he is clearly failing to perform"

Do you believe that GTCC? I mean I''ve seen several notes about various players not playing well only to find they''re back in the team for the next game. Fleming is one example, Drury has been another. Both have an alternative in Shackell but neither have been asked to sit on the bench. How many strikeouts does a player get before he is benched?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote]GazzaTCC said, "He therefore tends to stick with the man with the jersey, unless he is clearly failing to perform" Do you believe that GTCC? I mean I''ve seen several notes about various players not p...[/quote]

Morph

I believe it, as Worthy has often stated his policy is that the man in possession of the jersey keeps it if he performs.

However, I know exactly where you are coming from, as there are times when his loyalty to the favoured selection seems questionable, whilst the majority are expecting a team change.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...